Secrets
by Rigiied
Summary: Numerous people have infiltrated the Recon Corps with the aim of revealing certain secrets. Secrets that are meant to stay hidden. The only people who know of those are Levi and Erwin. What will those people go through to get their hands on what they want? Rated T for language. Levi!whump
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – A new fic! I've been debating whether or not to write about SnK again as I had some ideas for One Piece as well, but I decided to write SnK and maybe OP later. Enjoy!**

**Rated T for minor language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the story-line or any of the characters, all rights reserved to Hajime Isayama.**

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Levi was wandering around headquarters, he had been reluctant to do his paperwork so he had granted himself a break. As he watched the new recruits he sat down on a seemingly clean bench. Just a week ago new recruits had entered the Recon Corps. He had always hated the time when they arrived, but he had to admit … they were amusing to watch. Three years of training were hardly enough to survive outside the walls so the recruits were now undergoing some heavy training, in which most of them failed.  
As he was gazing at the trees he felt a strange presence above him. Purely on instincts he shoved aside, just when a bucket full of water splashed down on the spot where he had been sitting mere moments ago. He fixed his bored eyes on the wet patch and sighed, he wasn't even going to try and look up to see where it came from, because he didn't care one bit.  
Some of the soldiers had noticed the bucket flying towards the captain and were in awe by the speed of which Levi had removed himself from that bench.  
That had been the second time someone had tried to bother him in some way, but he wasn't interested in childish games like that. He had more important duties to fulfill … like scaring the recruits. _Or making sure Erwin gets his precious paperwork on time_ – he added to himself soon after. He picked some dust off of his shoulder before he returned inside.  
As he was nearing his room he noticed his door wasn't fully shut. Levi never forgot to shut his door.  
He quietly approached his door as he tried to contain his growing rage. No one was allowed in his room, no one had ever been in the room he tried to keep as neat and private as possible. He slammed the door open and just as he did so he heard a soft grunt coming from behind it. His eyes darkening he put all his weight on the door, "What the fuck are you doing here?" he asked menacingly to the, now partially flattened, figure.  
"S-stop." The person coughed.  
Levi showed no mercy as he put his back down even harder on the door. "I asked you a question, princess."  
Levi only heard gasps and coughs as an answer, so he lifted his back from the door and let it slam shut. A small-built young man followed behind as he collapsed on the ground.  
Levi crouched next to him and bore his gaze into the kid's. It looked like it was one of the recruits as he wore the Recon Corps' uniform.  
"I c-can explain." The young man mumbled when he'd recovered from his not-so-friendly introduction with Levi's door.  
"Humor me."  
"Well, you see …" the kid started as he got up, "I was just walking around and like this thing …" he continued hesitantly and then when he had finally managed to stand upright he made a run for it, he sprinted through the hallway and went around the corner.  
Levi stood still and looked around his room. He wasn't about to run after the recruit, his room needed to be sanitized first. Seeing it was mostly likely one of the recruits, he could handle him later. He sighed in frustration as he saw that most of his stuff was out of place and dirty boot prints adorned the floor. Cringing at the thought of all the filth the kid must have brought with him he started to clean.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

"Did you get him?" A tall intimidating man asked his subordinate.  
The subordinate shook his head as he looked straight in the man's eyes, "No, sir." He didn't dare to show any fear or weakness.  
The man grabbed his subordinates shirt and pulled him up until he was just a few inches away from his face. "You're an idiot." He spat as he dropped the kid on the floor again, "Make sure you get to him. We need answers, and fast. I informed with one of the members of the Corps and it seems the captain frequently takes a stroll around headquarters at night. Don' t fuck it up."  
"Yes, sir!" The subordinate said as he walked backwardly out of the small rundown house.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Levi rubbed the drops of sweat off his forehead as he contently observed his room, every paper was neatly stacked in the corner and the rest was squeaky clean – just how he liked it.  
"Don't you have more important things to do than satisfying that insane obsession of yours?" A voice called from behind him. He didn't need to look behind him to know who it was, he kept looking around for any more spots he could've missed as he shot a retort at the spectacled woman, "Shut up. Don't you have more important things to do than annoy me with your unwanted remarks?"  
"Well actually, I came looking for your stubborn ass." Hange replied dryly.  
"Fantastic." Levi said as he finally turned around. Hange was leaning against the doorframe and she looked quite bored – which was unusual. He decided to ignore her sneering reply and shot a death glare at the woman instead. Hange was the only who felt relatively comfortable around him, though he was mildly surprised that she didn't even blink under his gaze.  
After a few moments of silence, Levi sighed, "What do you need?"  
"It's not really something I need, it's more like something you need to do." Hange stated, "I see you've stacked those papers very nice, but did you actually take a look at them? You know how Erwin is …"  
Levi rolled his eyes, "And how is that any of your business?"  
"Is it not?" she smiled playfully as she turned around and raised her hand, "Don't tell me I didn't warn you."  
Following her friendly warning, Levi took off his apron and looked at the documents in the corner of his room. Hange had been right, Erwin was pretty strict when it came to handing in documents in time. So, Levi took the stack and placed himself at his – now spotless – desk.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

A dark figure crept past the inner walls of the Recon Corps' headquarters. He had screwed up earlier in the day and was now intent on getting to the captain. It was almost midnight and he had been creeping around for two hours already, but giving up was not an option. If he returned with empty hands … He shivered when he thought about that. After his run-in with his target earlier he had made sure not to underestimate him again. Despite his short stature the man had immense strength and presence, which made anyone feel like an ant.  
He'd thought about his plan for quite some time, but he was fairly certain it would work out. He snickered as he crouched behind a thick bush, this would definitely earn him a promotion.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Levi rubbed his eyes as he signed the last documents. Pleased with his work he stretched his back muscles and glanced outside. It was near midnight, so he still had some time to take a stroll. Those walks were the only times he could truly relax and he really enjoyed them – one of the few things he enjoyed other than cleanliness.  
Just as he was about to lock his door he decided he should take the documents with him and deliver them to Erwin already, this way he wouldn't have to worry about getting them there in the morning. He grabbed the map where he had ordered the documents in and left his room, making sure his door was firmly locked.  
Levi paced quickly through the empty halls and stopped in front of Erwin's office. He saw light coming from the small slit under the door so he knocked and entered the office.  
Erwin looked up and spotted the documents Levi was holding up. He nodded absently and gestured to leave it somewhere as he turned back to work. Without a word Levi went back outside and closed the door. Relieved he could finally go and breathe some fresh air he walked through the large gate at the front of the building.  
Levi stood outside for a moment before he put his hands in his pockets and started walking. He had a habit of walking through the storage shacks, he didn't know why but he always had the urge to check up on them. As he walked through he noticed a few dirty boots thrown aside, exhaling deeply he shook his head at the sloppy recruits. He reminded himself to mention that to the training officers the next day, they really needed to keep an eye on their trainees.  
He always liked walking along the walls. Nature on one side, civilization on the other. He liked the contrast and silence between the two. He stopped and looked up at the stars, enjoying the cool breeze that stroked his face.

The man had been delighted when he saw the captain approach his concealed position. He fumbled with the heavy article he held in his hands and shook with anticipation. He couldn't wait to feel his wooden stick collide with the captain's face. All of a sudden he spotted his chance, he shot forward and was next to his target in mere seconds. With all his strength he let his stick strike the back of Levi's head.

Out of nowhere Levi felt a sharp pain in his head as he fell forward. He cursed at himself because he had let his guard down. Lesson one: Never let your guard down, wherever you are.  
He sat on his hand and knees as he tried to focus on the shadow towering above him.  
"Surprise surprise, princess." The silhouette scoffed as Levi felt something collide with his head again before everything went black.

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**A/N – Yes? No? Maybe? Please do tell me if it's worth continuing! Thank you for reading and please review if you have the time. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – I'm so sorry that it took so long to update this story! My toaster had given up on me T.T but now my dear computer is fixed so I hope it won't take so long anymore. Enjoy!**

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The first things Levi became aware of when he started waking up were the ropes tightly bound around his wrists and the cold, steel chair he was sitting on. He wondered for a moment about where he was until he vaguely remembered being ambushed during his walk. He cursed to himself and tried to loosen the rope around his wrists. He opened his eyes to a slit and spotted a dark silhouette leaning against what appeared to be a door. His sight gradually became less blurry and his senses began returning to him.  
"Don't even bother, you won't get them off. I made sure of that." The silhouette said menacingly.  
Levi slowly raised his head and glared at the man. From the moment he had woken up he had been thinking about a way to get out of there.  
"So I've noticed." Levi replied dryly.  
The other man got up from leaning against the wall and slowly stepped towards him. He halted right in front of Levi and spat on the ground.  
"Cut the attitude, princess." The man smirked, he'd longed for the moment to call the captain that, he'd probably been too out of it the first time. He knew he'd given up his identity, but he didn't care. He actually enjoyed it a little.  
Levi glared, it was the recruit that had broken into his room earlier – if it was even a real recruit.  
"What do you want, shitface." Levi growled.  
"Oh no," the recruit said wiggling his finger back and forth, "not so fast. I'm not done with you yet." His eyes darkened as he hit Levi in his side with his foot.  
Levi grunted as he fell to the floor, unable to soften his fall because his hands were still tied. He braced himself for the kick that would probably soon follow. The breath was knocked out of his body as he flew – with the chair – against the wall behind him.  
"Now, now, Dan. Don't be too harsh, we still need him." Another voice said coming from the door.  
Levi focused his eyes towards the voice and tried to steady his breathing. This was more serious than he'd thought at first. They obviously wanted something from him and he reckoned it weren't his cleaning skills they longed for.  
"Pick him up." The man commanded Dan.  
The young man followed his apparent superior's order and set Levi upright again, he then walked to the corner of the room and stood there smirking.  
Levi turned his attention back to the large man standing in front of him, the room was badly lit and he couldn't tell who he was.  
"Levi Ackerman." The man started, "I've waited quite some time for this moment."  
"I'm glad at least one of us feels that way." Levi retorted. Just after he felt a fist collide with his face. Dan had come to stand behind him, still smirking his ass off. Levi shot him a death glare and reminded himself to try and stop from making his usual remarks.  
"I sure do." The man continued, seemingly uninterested in Levi's answer. He slowly paced back and forth, "You know … I never would've thought about taking you, but your blonde friend would've been too obvious. Anyways," he continued on a softer tone, "you know something. Something I and several others want to know."  
"The fuck are you talking about?" Levi asked, his annoyance reaching a new height.  
"Oh, now, now … Don't jump ahead of yourself, captain." The man said softly, his eyes gleaming evilly in the dim light. "Don't want to spoil the fun, eh?"  
The man stopped pacing around and straightened up, "I'll get back to you soon. There's some other duties I need to attend to right now." He diverted his attention to Dan, "I'll leave him to you, please make sure he's still presentable when I return." He then turned and stalked out the room.

When Erwin had stopped working, sunlight was already peering out through the window. He stretched and looked at the time, seeing it was nearly time to check on his troops he slowly got up. He looked disdainfully at the stacks of paper that still awaited him. Every year when the new recruits arrived the paperwork doubled, and he barely slept. Usually Levi helped him out with the recruits' forms, but it wasn't nearly enough for him to take it easy. He shook his head to clear his mind and made his way downstairs.  
He heard the recruits training from within the building. Pleased with the sounds he went to check on the progress of the recruits. Most of them were already ready to take on the titans, but when you're ready, you're actually not.  
He walked outside and subconsciously looked for his captain, who was nowhere to be found. In the back of his mind Erwin thought it was a bit odd. On days like these Levi was always found outside seemingly uninterested checking up on the progress of the recruits, just like he usually did if he had the time. Not worrying about it further he walked through the training recruits, helping them out here and there.  
One of the recruits had caught his attention. He moved differently than the others, more like a professional and constantly seemed aware of his presence. He'd deliberately avoided the young man, there was something off with him. He'd decided to look into the papers later.

"Commander!"  
Erwin looked up from the carriage he had been checking and directed himself towards Hange, the one who had called him. He walked towards her and after her short but respectful salute she immediately stated her business.  
"Sir! Do you know where Captain Levi may be? I have looked everywhere, but I cannot seem to find him."  
Erwin slowly shook his head, "I have no idea where he is. He wasn't on the training grounds this morning either."  
"That's not really like him." Hange mumbled in herself, "Anyways, I need someone for a project of mine and he's a perfect fit. You know …" She rambled on, using excessive hand gestures.  
Erwin interrupted her before she could fall in her usual habit of talking about titans for hours. He lifted his hand to silence her, "Let me know if you find him." He said as he walked away.  
"Yes, sir!"

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Levi was glad the annoying brat had finally gone away. He'd taken some more beatings, but after not reacting the kid had soon lost his interest. Levi sighed and felt blood dripping into his eyes, his hands were still firmly tied and there was no way of undoing the ropes.  
The kid had mentioned things about his past, so he'd been breaking his head about the words he'd said. Seeing he couldn't get away, he'd better do something somewhat useful. _This is for my father, it's your fault I've become like this – that all of this happened_ … The kid had said it over and over again. He still didn't know who the apparent boss was, though he did recognize the voice from somewhere.  
Levi cursed out loud, he just couldn't figure it out.

"Now, now, such a foul mouth." It sounded from the doorway. "I see Dan treated you nicely. He's a good kid, usable." He grinned, "Either way, I need you to go to sleep for a bit now." The man said as he slowly approached Levi, bearing a large stick.  
Levi's eyes widened as he saw the man raising his hands and swinging the stick towards him. The force of the blow knocked the air out of his body and soon after he went limp, sinking off in the soothing unconsciousness.  
The man turned and gestured other men to come in, "He's done. Take him to the base."

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**A/N – I'm sorry it's a bit short, but I'm still thinking about the next move. Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying this! If you have the time, pleaseeee review. c: **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – Thank you for the reviews and again sorry for the late update. :c Buuuuut here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

Erwin had been working all night through, partly expecting for Hange to come barging in his office saying she'd found Levi for her experiment. But she hadn't. He had found it increasingly difficult to concentrate that night, having taken several breaks. He hadn't even gotten half of the work done. He sighed, _this is going to take a lot of time. Damn it, Levi. Where are you?_ His captain never just went off without notifying him, even though he hadn't been gone for a long time … some things just didn't add up. He had started to get really worried when Levi hadn't shown himself during the meeting with the captains. No one knew where he was.  
He stroked through his hair and leaned backwards in his chair. He saw that the sun had just risen above the horizon, which meant the recruits should have just gotten up and about doing their chores. He slowly got up and walked outside, set on finding his captain. Walking through the hallway he vaguely remembered the last time he'd seen Levi, when he'd dropped off the paperwork he'd been assigned to.  
Levi usually went out at night to take a walk around headquarters, so he reckoned he'd done just that after dropping off the documents. He turned towards the exit and decided to go and take a look around the walls surrounding the building.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Levi was shaken awake by the movement of the carriage he was laying in. He blinked a few times and then suddenly remembered what had happened. He tried to keep as still as possible and take in his environment. It was dark, but light peered through the cracks which probably meant it was day. Though, the light didn't have much to shine on as the carriage appeared empty aside from a few crates stacked in the corner.  
Levi shuffled around a bit as he tried to sit upright, his hands still bound behind his back. The wobbly motions of the carriage weren't making it any easier either.  
When he'd finally made it upright he looked around again, his abductors had been so confident of him not being able to escape that they'd left him alone. His hands were bound very tight and he knew he could only get the ropes off with something sharp, it'd be useless to spend time on trying to get those off.  
It would also be significantly harder to move around due to the beatings he'd received earlier. He felt his ribs shifting over one another and his head was pounding forcefully. He could worry about that later – first and foremost, he had to get out of there, and fast. Those guys were up to no good and he definitely wasn't going to give himself up that easily. Pushing his thoughts back he slowly pushed himself upright and stumbled towards the wooden side of the carriage. He walked around, touching every inch he could reach to try and find a sharp splinter he could use. They were still moving at a considerable pace, so he hoped he'd have enough time. After some time he found a nail sticking out, softly sighing with relief he turned his back towards it and tried to cut through the ropes. Just about twenty minutes later his hands were finally free. He pushed back the urge to sit down and rest as he peered through the cracks in the wood on both sides. He didn't spot anyone, which he found extremely suspicious. He crept towards the back, cursing in himself as he saw it was locked. He'd have to go through the front. He turned back around and tried to go back to the front as silently as possible. He stiffened when he heard laughter coming from behind the wooden barricade. The small slot opened and a man walked in, "Now, now, captain. It's no time to be doing silly things, is it?"

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Erwin had walked around the outer walls two times and he hadn't found anything out of the ordinary, except for a somewhat battered bush, but that wasn't anything to get immediately suspicious about. He stood still and looked up, there still hadn't been any sign of Levi. He'd been thinking about getting the Military Police involved, but they weren't really fond of the captain and also … he doubted they would be of much use. He should just trust Levi and his capabilities to get out of whatever trouble he was in for now, seeing there was no way he could leave his post and go looking for him on his own. He'd have to assign a search squad later,_ I'll give you a few more hours_.

"Commander!" Hange yelled from the entrance, waving her hands to and fro. She skipped the salute as she halted in front of the commander and starting talking immediately. "Sir! You know, I just couldn't accept the fact that Captain Levi would just go without saying anything so I assigned some recruits to look around and see if they could find anything. Now, at first they though-"  
"Hange! To the point, please." Erwin interrupted before she'd fall in her habit of rambling on for hours.  
"Ah yes … Uhm, one recruit found a wooden bat stained in blood, presumably Captain Levi's, sir!" She revised, this time standing in position.  
Erwin tried to keep calm. Levi wasn't someone you could just sneak up on, let alone land a hit on. "Who found it? Bring the recruit to me." He ordered.  
"Recruit Adelbert, I'll go get him." She said as she sprinted away.

After a few minutes Erwin spotted Hange turning around the corner, hauling a recruit behind her. He narrowed his eyes as he saw it was the recruit from the day before. He'd wanted to check up on his admission papers, but he'd forgotten to do so. As they halted in front of him he straightened his back and looked down on the fairly smaller recruit who saluted clumsily. "Where did you find the weapon?" He asked in a low voice.  
The recruit looked up, his eyes flashing in the sunlight. There was something about him, but Erwin just couldn't put his finger on it.  
"I found it in the woods just outside the northern side of the outer walls, sir."  
"Take me there." Erwin ordered as he grabbed the recruit by his arm and pushed him forward. Hange leaned closer to Erwin and whispered, "Don't be so prickly, sir. The poor thing didn't do anything wrong, y'know."  
He didn't answer and shrugged her away. He didn't care about hurting a recruit's feelings at that moment, all he wanted was to find his captain and fast.

"I found it right here, between those trees." The recruit said while pointing at the location.  
Erwin walked towards the trees, but there's was nothing out of place. _What would I have expected? _– he thought.  
He turned to Hange with a slight frown decorating his face. "I need a group of soldiers to go and look for Levi and I want you to lead it. Leave as soon as possible." He ordered her as he walked away, pulling the recruit along. He'd wanted to guide the search himself, but he'd decided to keep an eye on this recruit Adelbert. Either way, it wouldn't be approved of if he'd left to look for one of his captains, one who was known as Humanity's Strongest Soldier nota bene.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Levi cursed when he saw the man, who he presumed to be the leader, coming towards him. He was finally able to see the man's face, but he didn't recognize him. He'd thought that because the man had subconsciously tried to cover up his face, he'd be someone Levi knew. He had hoped to find some sort of way to get out of there, but now he was helplessly leaning against a crate … _So far for not being noticed_ – he thought bitterly.  
"Oh my, looks like you got your restraints of. We'll have to make sure to get them tighter next time." The man continued, still slowly walking to Levi his eyes locked on his movements.  
Levi just stared and waited for what the man was going to do. At first he hadn't wanted to say anything, but before he would escape he'd better try and get some information.  
"Who are you?" He demanded.  
"Now, now, captain. Do you really think you're in the position to ask questions?" The man said seemingly innocent. Just after he shot out and hit Levi in the abdomen which caused him to double over and land back on his knees.  
Levi had been surprised by the sudden change of action and hadn't been able to fend of his fist. He reckoned the guy must have had military training if he was able to move that smoothly, and above all, if he was able to surprise him. The last time someone had been able to genuinely surprise him in combat was in the Underground when he had fought with Erwin. He'd vowed to never let that happen again, so he shot up and planted his shoulder in the man's abdomen to send him flying. He heard a loud and startled grunt which led him to believe that he had hit the right spot and without thinking he jumped out of the carriage. He hadn't looked outside first, but he had expected some accomplices at the least. So he was baffled when he saw the only carriage present was the one he'd just gotten off from. Not wanting to wait and see what the hell was going on he sprinted to the woods. He'd worry about orientating himself later, for now he'd just try to get as far away as possible.  
Years of training and the expeditions outside the walls helped Levi to navigate as quickly and silently as possible. After he knew he'd gotten far enough, he climbed in a tree and rested against the trunk. His ribs were aching and it felt like his head was going to explode any minute. Deciding it was best to sit down and reflect on what had happened he closed his eyes and rested his head back against the trunk.

**A/N – I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading! Please review if you have the time, I really enjoy reading your feedback whether it be positive or negative. It also speeds up the writing *hint hint* ;P**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – I'm so sorry for updating this story so late! I've been very busy with my exams and thesis, and whenever I found the time something always came up. :c Buuuut it's summer vacation now, so lots and lots of time to write about our lovely Levi. :D Enjoy! (If there are any mistakes, please do tell me. My English is still improving, I hope haha, and I usually write this stuff in the middle of the night – it's 2 am right now x_x - and don't beta it … c: )**

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Levi was startled awake by a familiar sound; thundering hooves. He sat still and looked over the leaves of the branch he was sitting on, his senses spiked by the sudden surge of adrenaline. The pain in his ribs and head momentarily forgotten, he leaned over and tried to locate the horses. The sun was already setting which meant that he had "rested" for quite a while.  
A horse suddenly flew by, just under the branch he was sitting on. It took him quite by surprise, which he also found quite surprising. He lightly shook his head to clear his thoughts and to remember the rider he'd seen. It had obviously been wearing a green coat, but he had failed to see an emblem. It could as easily be an ambush as it could be the Recon Corps. The adrenaline from before started to wear out and he felt himself become heavy. After a while of contemplating his next move, he decided it would be best to descend from the tree and go after the individual.  
He crawled, rather clumsily, out of the tree and quickly made way towards the bushes. He squatted and concealed himself enough to be hidden from a direct line of sight from further down the stony path and observed his surroundings. When he was certain there was no direct threat he got up. He soon regretted the sudden, somewhat too fast, movement as his vision faded and he had to grab the trunk near him for support. His kidnapper had really gotten him good.  
Levi took a moment but not much later he moved on.

Just half an hour later he found the horse, without its rider. He silently crept closer and sighed with relief that is was a horse that belonged to the Recon Corps. He looked around and noticed a group of people standing at the border of the forest, one of the people being the person he'd really wanted to avoid seeing. The spectacled woman who he was referring to quickly noticed his presence and spontaneously waved in his direction.  
"Captain!" Hange shouted as she ran over, the other soldiers following close behind.  
Levi tried to stand straight and look authoritative, but something deep down said that he was doing a horrible job at it.  
"What happened? Are you okay, sir?" Hange exclaimed when she'd arrived.  
Not expecting that to be the very first thing she'd say to him, Levi just shrugged. He wasn't used to Hange being considerably responsible and professional. Glad as he was with her, probably momentarily, professional attitude, he knew that just shrugging would probably not make up for her burning curiosity.  
Against his expectations Hange nodded and ordered a soldier to get his horse. "We brought your horse along for your convenience." She said. Then she leaned a bit closer and winked, "We wouldn't want you riding with me, would we?"  
Levi rolled his eyes and wiped his forehead. He felt dirty and sweaty and apparently also bloody as his hand came back stained with dried blood.  
He took over his horse from the soldier and mounted it. He was determined not to show any weakness as he thought of his injuries as only being minor. But those minor injuries were surely giving him quite a hard time of not having a rather pained expression.  
He rode towards Hange, who was also mounting her horse.  
"I need to see Erwin as soon as possible when we arrive back at the base. This is supposed to be strictly confidential and I trust that you will not talk to anyone about this until further notice. Do you understand?"  
Hange looked up and smiled, "Of course, captain. But I do think you'll need to see a doctor first, because you look like shit." And with that she took off.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

The ride back to base was probably one of the most annoying and painful rides Levi had ever had to endure. Hange had been babbling about the titans and her studies around it the whole way. He had to deal with those fuckers outside the walls, he did not want to hear about them for three hours inside the walls. His ribs that had been increasing in pain made it sufficiently harder to stay on his horse. He'd dealt with some pain before, but this time he had definitely broken quite a few.  
When they arrived back at headquarters it was already dark, any other person would've probably not found that relieving, but Levi did. He paced as quickly as he could towards Erwin's office and left the search party to look after his horse.  
He ignored the looks that were occasionally thrown his way by guards and barged into Erwin's office. The blonde commander who had been pacing to and fro in his office was startled by the sudden intrusion.  
"Levi." Erwin sighed in relief as he grabbed a chair at the sight of his captain and motioned him to sit down.  
Levi closed the door behind him and gratefully sat down in the comfortable cushioned chair.  
"You really loo-" Erwin began.  
Levi tiredly raised his hand, "Do not even start."  
"How curious I may be of your recent adventure, Levi, I'm also worried about your current state. I must ask you to go see one of the doctors."  
"There's no time for that, Erwin. My 'recent adventure', was not really what you can call a happy adventure." Levi groaned as he changed position, but hastily continued his explanation to avoid any unnecessary comments that may come his way. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's something not right about this whole ordeal. This man … I have a feeling I've met him before, but I can't recognize his face. He wants to know some things, but he never told me about what. Also, this recruit that had broken into my office earlier was present when they interrogated me. His name is Dan, do you have his admission papers? This also has something to do with this father, apparently."  
Erwin nodded, "I think I do have the admission papers lying around here. But with only his first name it's almost impossible to find them. I'll look into that later. As you were saying about that recruit … There's one recruit who's given me a strange feeling, he does not operate and act like the other recruits, which is why I wanted to look into him earlier. But with you disappearing and suddenly everyone that needs my attention, I never got to it."  
"There's something going on, Erwin. At first I thought it wasn't that serious, but this guy looked very certain of his goal." Levi paused for a moment to catch his breath, "I wonder though, how did I get away so easily? There were no carts nearby when I jumped out, and yet I was the one they so desperately needed? I just can't wrap my head around it …"  
Erwin looked compassionately at his captain, shoving his questions aside for a moment, "Maybe you can't wrap your head around it because you need to rest. If you don't want to see a doctor, that is fine. You can go in the morning, but you really need to rest if we want to think about it tomorrow."  
Levi knew he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but he nodded anyway as he wouldn't mind a quick rest. He slowly got up and tried to remain silent, and much to his satisfaction he succeeded.  
"I'll see you in the morning, commander." Levi said as he walked towards the door.  
Erwin nodded and leaned back in his chair when Levi had gone. He then got up and rummaged through the admission papers, determined to find out what it was with this recruit Adelbert, and maybe if he was lucky he could find this Dan too. Adelbert was one of the first names of his neatly stacked files, at times like this he was glad that he put so much time in ordering them alphabetically. He thoroughly read it through but he found nothing out of the ordinary, everything was how it should be in any other admission paper.  
He cursed silently, there had to be something. As fast as his thoughts were racing he jumped out of his chair and called a guard from the hallway.  
"I want you to stay near captain Levi's room. Don't stand still and be obvious, I just need someone to keep an eye on him and the surroundings tonight." He ordered. The guard nodded a little hesitantly, but stalked off to where Levi had gone not too long ago.  
Satisfied that someone was keeping an eye on his captain, he sat back down, leaned back and let his thoughts wander off to try and put every piece of information he'd gotten in order.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

Levi barely got to his room when the wave of exhaustion hit him. His breathing hadn't improved and it was way too shallow. He knew he should see a doctor, but right now he couldn't care less and all he wanted to do was to lay in his bed. He wanted to hit himself for being so weak, he needed to think about what happened, but he just couldn't get his thoughts straight. He knew he was probably still covered in blood, and as compulsive as he is with his cleanliness, he first wanted to clean himself before going to bed. With some newfound energy he managed to change into his pajamas and wash most of the dirt and blood off.  
Gratefully he crawled into bed, but as hard as he tried, he was unable to find the sleep he was longing for.

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**A/N – I wasn't really sure when to end this chapter, but I hope this is not too bad. I'm still getting back into the whole writing stuff, so please excuse me if the chapter is a bit lame. Please review, I always love reading them! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – I'm back and writing! I hope you guys enjoy this –rather- fast update for once. :D Enjoy!**

* * *

Erwin had decided to take some rest himself after the events surrounding his captain. He had barely slept the last few days with all the paperwork and supervision the recruits needed. He'd reasoned it'd probably be best to wait for Levi to try and put everything together. Though there was one thing that he just couldn't get out of his mind, and that was why they let him go so easily. It's pretty obvious that when you try to abduct someone like Levi, you have to take the necessary precautions. He laid in his bed but quickly caught sleep as the strain and tiredness took over.

/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

The few hours of sleep Levi had eventually gotten were surprisingly refreshing. His head was clearer, which he had hoped for since he was going over the events with Erwin. The pain on the other hand hadn't gotten better at all, and he was dreading the coming hours in which he had to sit on one of those hard wooden chairs in the conference room.  
He reached for his head and carefully dabbed the small cut that had given him one hell of a headache earlier. Luckily that had improved quite a bit so Levi was convinced visiting a medic was redundant, there were more important duties he had to attend to.

Once he had gotten himself ready and presentable, way too slow to his liking, he made way to Erwin's office. When Levi had entered the hallway there was something off about the surroundings. One guard, who was usually stationed on the other side, was standing near him. He looked at the man as deadly as possible before continuing on his way to Erwin. He knew that Erwin had sent the guard, but he wouldn't bother mentioning it. This was how the Commander showed compassion, so Levi never went in against it – how much he disliked it.  
He'd arrived at Erwin's office, he knocked on the door and entered when he heard a confirmation. Erwin was already behind his desk studying several papers at once. The man lifted his finger, signaling that he needed a second.  
Levi waited a painful ten minutes in silence before Erwin abruptly stood up and nodded at Levi, "Thanks for coming in this early. Let's proceed to the conference room." He said as he grabbed a bundle of papers and led the way out.  
Levi followed the Commander, annoyed that he was slowing his pace so he could more easily follow. "You don't have to hold back for me." He said.  
"I will keep doing so until you go to the doctor's office, captain."  
"There's no need for that as I am completely fine." Levi hesitated for a bit, "My headache is gone and I slept a few hours."  
Erwin stopped walking and turned around, nearly bumping into Levi. "I know about your need to keep saying you're fine, even when people can clearly see you're not. I'm not asking as your commander, but as your friend. Go see a doctor, it's not much and it will help ease MY mind. I need you in top shape the upcoming days and I can't compromise any future missions if my captain cannot handle it." And with that he turned back around and walked, much faster now, towards the conference room.  
Levi was baffled by the sudden reprimand he'd gotten from his commander, who, for the first time he could remember, had asked something as a friend. He wondered what Erwin had discovered that he didn't know about yet, there could be no other explanation. There had been no information of the upcoming days, let alone about future missions …

When they'd arrived they both sat down. Erwin had locked the door, which spiked Levi's interest even more.  
"I can trust you will go see a medic after this?" Erwin started.  
Levi only nodded.  
"Good. Now let's get to it. I've been looking into some old files, but I just can't seem to put these together. There are several parts missing, ones of which I believe contain the most important information. They date back from when you just joined the Corps … Do you know anything about this?" Erwin asked as he handed over the files he'd been reading all morning.  
Levi curiously read through the pages, taking his time to read every detail there was. A bit later he slowly shook his head, "I've never seen this before. I can see it says something about a fire?"  
"That's correct. The thing is; I can't seem to find any reports on what happened. It's like everything vanished along with the fire."  
"Okay, but how does this have anything to do with recent events?" Levi asked wondering about the connection.  
"There's only one name that can be found throughout all the documents, and that's Oscar Wyzskinsky. Now, I've looked further into that name, and it turns out this man had a son named Dan."  
"So, what happened to that man?"  
"He's the only registered deceased from that fire, the rest has been wiped clear."  
"And I apparently had something to do with it …" Levi mumbled, sinking away in his thoughts. "Now you bring it up though," He began, "I do remember you mentioning a fire in the outer walls … Near the entrance of the Underground." He looked up at Erwin, who was standing near the window.  
"Indeed." Erwin whispered. He stared at his captain, "I was a captain back then and I tried not to think about that fire for many years, but for some reason is had to be brought up again by these people. We were ordered not to talk about it and to just forget it ever happened by some nobles. I don't know much about it either, but we, the military, were the ones who made those documents so I'm really curious as to who wanted those gone. Then again, I also wonder what those 'secrets' are they so desperately want to know about."  
"Tell me about it," Levi sighed, "I know Dan gave me the blame of the death of his father, for which I really cannot find a reason. I wasn't involved with that fire nor do I know a guy with that name. So why, if they so desperately wanted that information, did they let me get away so easily?"  
Erwin grumbled and massaged his temples, "This is getting more complicated by the minute."  
All of a sudden there was loud pounding on the door and a hectic muffled voice coming from behind. Erwin speeded towards the door to unlock it, which revealed a rather distressed Hange who was panting in position.  
"I'm sorry for interrupting, sir, I have recruit Adelbert who wishes to see you."  
"Can't that wait?!" Erwin almost yelled, frustrated at being disrupted for a recruit. Though he was also intrigued as to what this peculiar recruit would have to say.  
"I'm afraid not, sir." Hange said.  
"What do you mean it can't wait? I do not wish to be disturbed for a recruit." Erwin stated angrily.  
"I think you would, Commander." A menacing voice said, coming from behind Hange. Erwin hadn't noticed the short recruit that had been standing behind Hange. The little curiosity he had had now made way for serious annoyance at the gutsy recruit.  
Levi had managed himself to stand behind Erwin. He put his hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, I wonder what he has to say that can justify his actions."  
Erwin nodded and motioned the recruit to come inside. While he casually walked by he threw a glance at Levi, "Looking better there, captain."  
Levi grabbed Adelbert his coat and pulled him back before his eyes, "Excuse me?" He threatened.  
Erwin who had closed the door in front of a very curious and agitated Hange now looked baffled at the guts of the kid. He knew there had been something off from the beginning, and the menacing tone from earlier hadn't escaped his attention.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, captain." The recruit smiled, "Put me down nice and easy so we can get on with our lovely talk."  
"Are you fucking shitting with me, kid?" Levi grumbled in a low voice as he pulled the recruit even closer.  
"I'm most certainly not. Now I advise you to let me go or-"  
"Or what?"  
Erwin who had been watching the scene unfold in front of him in mere seconds, jumped forward and pulled the recruit out of Levi's grasp. He squeezed his captain's shoulder to let him know they'd sort it later. Levi's didn't respond but fixed his burning eyes on the kid in front of him who was casually pulling his coat straight.  
Erwin stood tall and stared at the recruit as well, both of them waited in certain anticipation of what the kid was going to do next.  
"I didn't come here to start a fight, captain. I thought you were smarter than to pick one with a recruit? I must have mistaken myself about you." He started, "Let's get down to business, shall we?" He paused for a moment and smiled with satisfaction when he noticed he got both his superiors' attention. "I demand only two things. First, I need-"  
"I don't think you are in the position to demand anything, recruit Adelbert." Erwin disrupted.  
"Oh, I really do think I am. Could you look under your desk for me please?" He said innocently.  
Erwin nodded towards Levi to check. Levi slowly walked towards Erwin's desk, keeping one eye on his commander. He ducked under the table and was baffled at what he saw … Erwin hardly ever left his office, so to put something like this here …  
"It's appears to be a bomb." Levi gritted his teeth, this kid had outsmarted them by a mile.  
Adelbert laughed, "And that's not the only one, I even made them myself! So I suggest you let me finish, give me what I want and I'll be on my way. No one else gets hurt, win-win for everyone!"  
"What do you want?" Erwin said as calmly as possible. He silently motioned Levi to get away from the bomb.  
"Oh right, where was I?" He pondered, "First of all, I need all those lovely documents you have there, lying on your table. DON'T interrupt me before I'm finished, please." The kid quickly added as he noticed Levi stiffening up to shoot a retort. "Second, I need you to make the captain's abduction public to all who want to hear about it. It's not really of any importance to our goal, but you get the drift." He laughed again as he plopped down into the large armchair Levi had sat on the night before. Both Levi and Erwin didn't move, which irritated the rather short fused recruit immensely. "Come on, chop chop! I don't have all day!" He shouted at them.  
Erwin grabbed the documents and handed them over to recruit Adelbert who was already standing by the door. "Thank you very much. Have a nice day!" He said as he waved. "Or not." He added after he'd closed the door behind him, he locked it and gave a small knock on the door. "Don't forget to make the abduction public, I love a good laugh now and then!" he said as he started to walk away.  
Erwin who was trying to pick open the lock, yelled at the door, "What are you up to?!"  
"I never said anything about not setting the bomb off. You really need to pay attention to what people say and do! Goodbye." And with that he was gone.  
Erwin turned to Levi who had gone to look at the bomb, of which he suspected that had been set off.  
Levi shot up from under the desk and ran to Erwin, "Open the door, I can't stop the fuse!" He yelled, trying to contain his nerves about the new piece of technology. He'd obviously lit it up himself, but there was no way of defusing it without setting it off earlier.  
"The bastard locked it." Erwin said as he turned back and looked for options. "The closet! It's solid enough!" He ran to the closet and both he and Levi got in but failed to close the doors when the bomb went off. A huge blast ensued which lightened up the room, and then sudden darkness. A darkness of which he never thought that could be so soothing.

**A/N – So here's my poor attempt at a cliffhanger. xD I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always please review! I really helps me write more and stay motivated. :) Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – I'm sorry for the late update yet again Dx buut here's the next chapter after my not so failed cliffhanger (I hope xD), thanks for the reviews I've gotten so far! They really speed up the writing *hint hint*. Enjoy!**

A metallic taste of blood. Dust everywhere making it harder to breathe. Loud noises over the even louder constant beep. Levi was slowly regaining his senses as the blackness began fading away. It took a while for him to remember what had happened … the bomb quickly came to his mind. He tried to open his eyes, but there wasn't much to see. Dark shadows filled the small area he was sitting in. Shards of the events from the past half hour came back to him as he remembered that they had gotten into the closet right before the blast. Erwin! He looked around and saw a still form lying just a few inches further than his hand could reach. His ears were still recovering so he couldn't hear any breathing, and as the adrenaline began to wear off the overall pain increased. As much as Levi wanted to deny it … everything hurt.  
He tried to sit upright but his head softly collided with the back of the closet that had fallen on top of them, along with several uniforms and documents. He knew he wouldn't be able to get it off of them on his own, and they would probably barely manage with the two of them. Though he was relieved that it had fallen forwards instead of backwards to the blast, it would have been a lot uglier if they hadn't been shielded at all.  
"Erwin!" He tried.  
Soft groaning came from the other side and Levi softly sighed in relief. "Are you okay?" He asked.  
The commander rolled over on his back and blinked a few times experiencing the almost same routine as Levi had done a few minutes prior. "Yes, I think so. Just a bit shaken up. How about you?"  
"Could be better." Levi coughed. "Do you hear those noises outside?"  
Erwin nodded, but then realizing his captain probably wouldn't be able to see that, he added, "Yes. They're trying to get us out, but I presume that's going to take a while. Can you manage lifting up the closet?"  
"Yeah. Tell me when you're ready."  
Both men repositioned themselves so they could more easily put force on the back plate of the wooden closet.  
"On three." Erwin said, "One … Two … Three!" When they pushed the back immediately fell off and cracked in two, bringing along debris and dust on its way down.  
Levi coughed again and squinted his eyes at the sudden light that came pouring through the now open 'roof'.  
They helped each other up without a word and looked around the destroyed office. There was nothing left of the outer wall and the whole room was filled with smoke and dust. Two support beams had fallen in front of the door, which meant they couldn't get out of there unless there was a way of them getting out through the hole in the wall. The banging on the door still hadn't stopped so Erwin reckoned it was useless to try and shout over it. He approached the door, carefully stepping over unstable parts of the floorboards, and banged on the door himself. Soon after the voices and banging stopped. It made place for a worried woman's voice asking who he was.  
"We're fine!" Erwin yelled back, "You cannot enter through the door, try going through the courtyard!"  
Levi stumbled towards the cracked walls and looked outside. Several soldiers and recruits were looking up with varying expressions. He scanned the ground, but there were no ladders they could use. They were on the third floor of the building so someone would have to gear up to come and get them. Deciding it wasn't worth the time to keep straining himself over something without a nearby solution, he walked a bit further away and slid down against the wall. Going over his injuries he gruffly noted the broken ribs and probable concussion from earlier. He'd wanted to get back on his feet properly to get to the bottom of what the hell was going on, but a bomb exploding next to him wasn't quite the help in his recovery. He subconsciously closed his eyes and leaned his head back. His hands were slowly progressing downwards, carefully looking for any possible injuries. His breath hitched when he touched a tender part just above his hip. Looking down at his fingers he noticed blood.

Erwin had been communicating their current state and all the information he had to the other side of the wall as best as he could. He felt tired and particularly annoyed at himself and this recruit Adelbert. The kid had outsmarted them by miles. He slowly massaged his temples and knocked two times on the door signaling the end of the conversation, if you could even call it one. He looked around for his captain who had been rather silent, not that that was any different from … always. Levi was sitting against the back wall looking slightly pale, but he wouldn't have expected otherwise. The guy had just been through a rough abduction and now he almost got blown to pieces, it was a miracle they both hadn't sustained any major injuries. He himself had a deep cut on his forearm that had been bleeding quite a bit, but it had nearly stopped already thanks to the improvised bandage. A concussion was very probable as well and Erwin briefly thought about the complications for the Recon Corps to having both the Commander and senior Captain compromised.  
"Captain," he began, "How are you doing?"  
Levi looked up and managed a grunted reply, "I'm fine."  
Erwin nodded warily. Levi wouldn't just acknowledge his injuries, especially not when there were more important things in his mind. They would be checked over by the medics soon anyway, so he accepted his captain's response and sat down next to him. "Hange said they could be here within ten minutes. It seems there are some problems with the equipment." Erwin said.  
"That brat was prepared for everything, and we missed it." Levi grumbled.  
"Yes, and next time _we_ will be. The thing I'm most worried about is what information we've got. We know about the fire that killed the father of your abductor and how some nobles ordered the military to clear it out, but that's as far as our knowledge currently goes … Why are we being targeted for something that happened so long ago and had nothing to do with us?" He pondered.  
"I think-" Levi started, but he was cut off by Hange who, not so graciously, came flying through the gap and landed two feet away from where both the captain and commander were sitting. Levi saw Hange was carrying a rope ladder. He slowly pulled himself upright and waited for Hange to tie the ropes so they could finally get down.  
"Hi there, captain Levi and commander." She smiled joyously while securing the last knots.  
"You go first, captain." Erwin said.  
Levi nodded and made way to climb down. His side and head heavily protested against the strain, but he pushed through it and slowly descended.  
Erwin turned to Hange, "I trust there are medics stand-by."  
She nodded, "I thought you would need them, sir."  
"Good." He said as he also made his way towards the rope ladder.

The first thing Levi registered when he set foot in the courtyard were the two medics that came running towards him. As much has he wanted to ignore the fact that he was not okay, he also realized he couldn't do any work if he kept delaying his visit. Accepting the medics' help he walked with them towards the infirmary. Erwin had followed once he had set foot on the ground and was also being escorted by two medics.  
After being sat on a bed, as he refused to lay down, he slowly felt the fatigue creeping up at him. Resisting the urge to close his eyes, he waited on one of the medics to return with some supplies.  
"Right, captain. Can you tell me where it hurts?" The youngest of the two asked. He knew the kid was just following protocol, but that single question really annoyed him out of his wits.  
"Have a guess." He snapped as he lifted his bloody hand from his side.  
The kid's eyes widened but his look remained steady as he carefully examined the wound. "You'll need stitches, sir." He concluded and then proceeded to slowly push the captain down on the bed.  
It took all of Levi's remaining strength to bite back a snarky reply, but he got the hint and laid down. The second medic soon returned and took over the examination, but Levi didn't register much more as his eyes slid close and his body embraced the comforting unconsciousness it had longed for.

Erwin had been discharged from the infirmary fairly quick, so he made his way to where his captain was being treated. His wounds had been pretty minor, except for the deep cut and a confirmed concussion, but he was mostly worried about Levi. He knew the man had been hurting more than he had let on.  
"How is he?" Erwin asked as he neared the private room. A young medic turned around and briefly saluted the commander before commencing his explanation. "He had some glass deeply lodged in his side but we were able to remove it, sir. He also has a few broken ribs and a concussion, as for the rest there are just minor cuts and bruises. The captain has been out for quite some time now, so I'm afraid he won't be waking anytime soon, sir."  
"Alright, keep me updated." Erwin stalked out of the infirmary, glancing back over his shoulder. Levi had been about to say something when Hange came flying in. For the past hour he'd been wondering what that could have been, because he had looked like he knew something.  
He stopped just outside the door and looked around. Spotting a lot of debris and several soldiers already cleaning it up under the window where the conference room had used to be he sighed. He'd lost a lot of important documents and quite possibly also the answer to this mess.  
He saw Hange giving orders to some recruits. Something suddenly came to his mind as he called her over. "Get commander Pixis for me. Tell him to meet me in my office, no questions."

**A/N – Sorry for the length, please review! Thanks for reading. ^-^**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – My apologies for updating so late again! I recently came back from a trip to Poland to feed my inner history geek, so I hadn't had the time until now to get another chapter up. I hope to start updating more regularly from now on, thanks for sticking to this story and enjoy!**

Erwin had been waiting impatiently on the arrival of commander Pixis. He knew the man didn't like being called up like that, but he didn't have another choice. Levi was still recovering in the infirmary and he wasn't eager to disturb the captain, he'll know soon enough what the man had tried to say. Sunken in his thoughts he didn't notice the movement in his office until a low cough gave away its presence.  
"Why did I have to come all the way here, commander." An authoritative voice demanded.  
Erwin spun around and spotted commander Pixis seated in the chair in front of his desk.  
"Commander," he spoke, "I have an urgent enquiry that I couldn't ask you through messenger."  
"What is so important that you couldn't even bother to come to me?"  
"I sincerely apologize for that, but captain Levi is currently in the infirmary and I need to know when he's good to speak."  
"You don't look so good yourself, commander." Pixis observed as he leaned in a little closer and burned his eyes into Erwin's. "What is this enquiry."  
Erwin stared back, not sure whether the commander would want to acknowledge his question, let alone answer it. "It's about a fire several years ago."  
Pixis leaned back again and shook his head, "A fire?"  
"With all due respect, I think you know something about that." Erwin replied as he approached Pixis. "There is little to no documentation about it. Back then I kept quiet just like everyone else, but some events led up to me believing there is something wrong. Why would some nobles want to cover up a fire near the Underground in one of the outer districts?"  
"Look," Pixis began as he stood up, "If you can't find anything about it, there must be a reason as to why you can't. Let it rest."  
"I can't just-"  
"Let it go!" Pixis shouted as he made way towards the door. As he grabbed the handle he looked back once more and gritted his teeth, "If I wanted to know something about a fire, I would check out the old archives." With that he slammed the door behind him shut and left the Recon Corps' headquarters.  
Erwin was stunned at the commander's reaction, but he'd let on that there must be something more going on. The old archives had been locked down several years ago due to unknown reasons and was now a restricted area – locked down around the same time of the fire …  
"Commander." A strained voice called from the doorway. For the second time that day Erwin hadn't heard the door open. He turned around and saw Levi leaning heavily against the doorpost.  
"Captain!" he said as he went over and grabbed a chair for the swaying man to sit on. "Why are you out of the infirmary?!"  
"I don't have time to be fussed over."  
"Were you cleared to go out?" He demanded.  
"All the doc needed was a slight incentive, I'm fine."  
Erwin raised his hands, "Alright." He wouldn't fully get through to the man anyway. "You don't have a choice here though, Levi. You are to tell me what you wanted to say earlier and then return to the infirmary immediately."  
"Erwin-"  
"Or do you want me to get the medics to carry you back?"  
"Fine. I'll go back AFTER we finish this."  
"You'll go back when I tell you to, no discussion."  
Levi grunted but wisely decided not to pursue the argument. Erwin sat down himself in front of his captain and leaned on his elbows, sighing he grabbed some half burned up documents he had managed to save from the conference room and absently started going through them. "So, what were you about to say earlier?"  
Levi shifted in his chair, trying to find a comfortable position – in vain. "I remembered something. Just after you had invited me to join the Corps I ran into some young brat and his father. They asked for my help, but I refused because there was no time. I remember the name of the old man being Oscar and that his legs were failing on him thanks to the lovely atmosphere around there. I think that the kid might have been Dan."  
"Yes, it could certainly be .. but then how does that tie you or me directly to that fire? We knew about it to some degree, but as far as I remember they told us it was a technical malfunction."  
Levi shrugged, too tired to be thinking straight he actually wanted to go to bed for once. "That's the same thing they told us and the other officers, I still have no idea what those shitty nobles went on about."  
"Right now we'll have a hard time figuring that out, since our friend Adelbert took some important files, some of which were classified. He must've known exactly what he was looking for, and he waited for the right moment to get it."  
Levi just nodded and leaned his head back, he was of no use. He reasoned he'd probably get a clearer perspective on everything in the morning. "I think I'm going to my quarters for the night." He said as he slowly pulled himself upright.  
"And I think you're going back to the infirmary." Erwin quickly intervened, knowing exactly what his captain was trying to do.  
_Tsk._ Levi didn't argue any further and let Erwin escort him back to the infirmary.

"Commander! Captain! You shouldn't be out of bed!" The older medic immediately shouted when he saw the two officers entering his building.  
"There were things that needed to be taken care of."  
"Can't you handle things like that from here? I really don't need you walking around yet, sir. You've been in an explosion and had surgery just a few hours ago." The medic turned his attention the Erwin and let his stern eyes scan the younger man, "As well for you, commander. You'll both need the rest for the upcoming days."  
"I agree." Erwin nodded, "I will leave to my quarters as soon as I'm done handling the chaos outside. I will leave the captain under your care." And with that he turned on his heels and marched out of the infirmary, leaving Levi with a rather disgruntled medical officer.  
Levi sighed and leaned on the table next to him, "So where will I be staying?"

Erwin really hated going against the orders of a medic, but he really couldn't let the case rest. He'd already prepared for a few sleepless nights. The chaos on the courtyard had been sorted out and most of the debris was gone. Sadly a lot of the files that were stored in the conference room were destroyed along with the blast, so he didn't have much to go on. He sat in front of his desk in his quarters and was absently looking through death certificates hoping to find anything that might have to do with a fire. He'd had no luck so far, much to his rapidly growing annoyance. He rubbed the back of his palms in his eyes and let them go through his hair. An Oscar had died in the fire a few days after allegedly asking Levi for help, a fire that had been covered up by some nobles.  
He slammed his fist down on his desk, hardly anything made sense and he felt like he was overseeing some crucial parts to solving this idiocy.

The following morning Levi slowly awakened in his private room in the infirmary, it took him a moment to remember where he was. Sighing out loud he threw back the covers and slid out of his bed, he swayed for a moment as he got up but he definitely felt a lot less crappier than he felt the day before. The medical officer had given him his permission to go over things with Erwin today. _Like I need permission for that. _\- he thought. Dressing up as fast as he could he made himself ready to go out. As soon as he opened his door he felt two hands roughly pushing him back in.  
"Now, now, captain. Why the rush?" A voice said lightly.  
Levi's eyes widened as he stared at the man looking out the window, his body tensed as he cursed under his breath, "How the fuck did you get in here?"  
The man turned around and stared in his eyes, "Let's just say I have my ways of getting what I want."  
Levi couldn't help but helplessly stare at the man's right side of his face, which was covered in burns. He'd seen his face before, but never in the light.  
"Looks awful, doesn't it? THIS is what was brought upon me thanks to your military." He whispered in a harsh tone. "I know you must be wondering why I took the trouble of coming here, but my leader's orders are everything to me … as they should be to you. It seems you chose to ignore the small deal you made?"  
Levi stared suspiciously at the man, he'd honestly believed the man standing in front of him was his own leader, "What deal?"  
"Now, now, you see … We rarely get any fun in our, let's call it, 'company', my boss requested that you made your little slip-up abduction public so we could all have a laugh."  
"Your guy has those files, there is no benefit to him in that request."  
The man's eyes hardened as he stepped closer, "You have no right to question his requests!" He spat. "I never thought the military could be so incompetent." He shook his head and resumed his usual demeanor. "Anyway, to make up for this little … bump in the road we've decided to get our pleasure from somewhere else. Have fun trying to figure it out before it's too late!" He said as he waved, but right as he wanted to close the door he turned around again and threw some documents on the floor. "He wanted you to have these … to speed up the process. Remember, it's a game.~" With that Levi was left alone in his room. He'd wanted to stop the guy from going anywhere, but he had no idea of his capabilities at that moment. He moved to pick up the documents on the floor and went to open his door. Precariously enough, nothing was out of the ordinary. The older medic looked up and looked sternly at the bundle his patient was carrying. The man made his way to Levi and just barely managed to keep himself from waggling his finger, "How did you get that paperwork in here?"  
Levi stared down at the bundle he was carrying, completely ignoring the question he spotted a small colored paper taped to the corner. The paper read:

YOU'RE TOO LATE. KABOOM.  
\- A.

Then out of nowhere a loud shock came blasting through that shook the buildings and let the doors rattle in their hinges. _What the hell was that?_

**A/N – Thanks for reading. :) Please review and let me know what you think about it!**


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